Reengaging 'at-risk' youth in secondary education

A psychosocial study suggesting how 'at-risk' youth may reengage in secondary education. There are four outcomes: first, recognize identity work as key to understanding youth; second, progressively include youth in decision making; third, empower youth through collegial dialogue; finally, share creation of and responsibilities for content, process, assessment and evaluation.

Why did they leave and what can they tell us? Allied health professionals leaving rural settings

The aim of this paper is to explore the lack of retention of allied health professionals in rural areas in Victoria, Australia. A structured telephone interview was used to elicit responses from 32 allied health professionals from south-west, central-west and north-east Victoria about their working experiences and reasons for resignation. The data revealed that work experiences in rural areas can be summarised within three domains: organisational, professional and personal/community. Under the organisational domain the participants were mainly focussed on the way in which their work arrangements require them to be both more generalist in their approach to day-to-day work, and more expansive in shouldering management style functions in the workplace. Under the professional domain there were three major issues; clinical, career and education/training. The personal/community domain focussed on issues to do with their affinity for their workplace as well as their location in a rural place. The attempts by government to address some of the leading factors for retention of allied health professionals are perhaps too narrowly focussed on the public sector and could encompass a wider approach.

What is known about the topic? Although recruitment and retention of allied health professionals in rural areas is widely discussed, the professionals have not been interviewed about their experiences once they have left rural employment.

What does this paper add? This paper provides detailed insights into the reasons why allied health professionals leave their positions in rural areas and the positive and negative aspects of living and working in a rural area. The results of this study contribute to the development of better policy models for recruitment and retention of allied health professionals in rural areas.

What are the implications for practitioners? The factors that influence whether allied health professionals stay or leave rural areas is of concern for health policy makers at state and federal levels. This paper provides information for the extension and development of programs to attenuate rural leakage of professionals.

Australian PhDs by LIS educators, researchers and practitioners : depicting diversity and demise

Analyses of more than 73,000 PhD thesis records in a comprehensive database of bibliographic records from all Australian universities from 1948 to 2006 demonstrate that PhDs on LIS-related topics reveal not only diversity of content, but also the diverse nature of the researcher's academic disciplines. This diversity includes researchers from within and outside LIS who bring to LIS–or take away–a variety of methods, approaches, theories and understandings. With 27 of Australia's 39 universities having produced LIS-related PhD graduates, the distribution through the Australian university system is evident and emphasizes the transferability of skills and knowledge which graduates bring to their work. It is possible that the diversity of researcher's disciplines, combined with the dangerously low numbers of LIS graduations, may also threaten the future of LIS research and education in Australia. Based on the findings of this study, the sustainability of LIS research and research training for the next generation in Australia is under threat.
Article Outline

Exploring and reconceptualising the role of Victorian Catholic school principals

This research reinforced accounts of tension for school principals. It also provided new insights because an important finding was that, contrary to many reports of defection, principals wish to remain in the role. Greater support mechanisms and consideration of other principalship models emerged as important factors for enhanced job satisfaction.

Aboriginal women and reconciliation in Australia : communication strategies and symbolism

This thesis explores the voices of Aboriginal women in the Reconciliation movement from 1991to 2001. It charts their success and failure, the power of the media and Reconciliation symbolism. Some of these women leaders retain a passionate commitment to Reconciliation while others have totally withdrawn from the process.

Memory and heritage

The thesis looks at how people use memory and heritage to construct their identity. The conclusion is that memory, heritage and identity are fluid and their construction is dependent on socio-politico-economic circumstances. The thesis therefore calls for the involvement of local stakeholders in the interpretation of heritage places.

Rural markets and school choice

This thesis examines how families and schools in a rural Victorian setting engage with education markets and policies of school choice. Focusing on federal funding and state conveyancing policies, the study employs policy sociology and social geographies perspectives to examine policy effects on social relations and the implications for equity.

Tertiary education for social justice in an age of uncertainty

This thesis is concerned with tertiary teachers in a range of disciplines who focus on social justice. It found that current conditions of tertiary education are challenging for teachers and suggested that a "capabilities" approach can provide the basis for attending to professional and ethical issues for tertiary teachers.

Democratic deliberation, citizenship, and networked computers

This study offers a multi-faceted response to the question of whether or not network computers can improve citizen power from the perspective of deliberative democratic theory. It concludes that in particular circumstances, computers can enhance citizens' power, and improve deliberation in liberal-democratic forums.

Educational praxis in various Australian indigenous higher education contexts

This thesis critically reports on discourses that impact on the role and work practices of a non-Indigenous educator within Indigenous higher education contexts. The study uses autobiography and narrative inquiry as research methods to examine workplace contexts. The findings reveal competing influences that shape the practices of a non-Indigenous educator.

Representation and judgement : 'privileged' Jews in Holocaust writing and film

This thesis analyses the ways in which moral judgements of so-called privileged Jews are constructed in Holocaust representations. ‘Privileged’ Jews include those prisoners in the camps and ghettos who held positions which gave them access to material and other benefits. Subject to extreme levels of coercion, these victims were compelled to act in ways that have often been judged as both self-serving and harmful to fellow inmates. Such controversial figures constitute an intrinsically important, frequently misunderstood and hastily judged facet of the Holocaust. Scholars have neglected the problem of judgement in relation to ‘privileged’ Jews; nonetheless, Holocaust texts frequently portray these liminal figures.

Of crucial importance to the thesis is Primo Levi’s paradigmatic essay entitled ‘The Grey Zone,’ which directly engages with the complex and sensitive issue of ‘privileged’ Jews. Levi argues that due to the extreme ethical dilemmas that ‘privileged’ Jews confronted, any judgement of these victims needs to be suspended. However, if, as Levi suggests, judgement is at times impossible, the thesis challenges Levi’s assumption by contending that representations of ‘privileged’ Jews inevitably take a moral position. In this way, the thesis conceptualises judgement as a ‘limit’ of representation. Indeed, it is shown that Levi himself cannot abstain from judging those for whom he argues judgement should be suspended.

The thesis takes Levi’s concept of the ‘grey zone’ as a point of departure in order to examine the problems of judgement and representation in relation to ‘privileged’ Jews. Analysis focuses on Raul Hilberg’s influential historical work and examples of documentary and fiction films. The thesis examines how Hilberg and several filmmakers employ conventions as a means of conveying judgement. It is argued that self-reflexive representations of ‘privileged’ Jews in film, particularly fictional dramatisation, have the potential to provide a nuanced representation of ‘privileged’ Jews, which engages with Levi’s ideas by questioning the possibility of judgement.

Native English speaking teachers and Taiwanese English teachers' professional identity

The study found that Native English Speaking Teachers (NESTs) helped Taiwanese English teachers define their weaknesses, strengths, roles and values through relationality. NESTs brought competing discourses to the profession. In addition, team teaching has become a site of tension threatening Taiwanese English teachers in activating their professional agency.